[ISN] Zimbabwe to introduce legislation on cyber crime

[InfoSec News]

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200605/18/eng20060518_266621.html

Xinhua 
May 18, 2006

The Zimbabwean government plans to come up with legislation to curb
cyber crime in the country in view of its increasing threat to world
economies, Transport and Communication Minister Christopher Mushowe
said on Wednesday.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf during the commemorations
to mark World Telecommunications Day under the theme of "Promoting
Global Cybersecurity".

"Given the threats that are posed to global economies by cyber crime,
there is need to come up with measures to combat this crime, " he
said.

Most countries, including Zimbabwe, had laws and regulations outdated
for protecting networked information, he said.

On the contrary, he said, perpetrators were always updating their
technologies making it difficult for the laws to catch up.

"Most of the existing statutes do not have sufficiently deterrent
penalties on cyber crime," he said, adding that the government would
work with stakeholders including Parliament, in formulating consensus
on the way forward in combating cyber crime.

Cyber crime takes various forms, including Spam, which disrupts
networks, cuts productivity and spreads viruses.

It also involves distribution of offensive material like racist
propaganda, electronic money laundering, electronic vandalism,
terrorism, extortion, hacking and illegal interception of
telecommunications, which violates individual privacy.

The minister said Zimbabwe would soon come up with measures to curb
this crime, including raising awareness through the country's
education system, cooperating with other countries in the exchange of
technical information and communication network security.

Other measures included building capacity of cyber space users and
joining forces with the private sector in combating the crime through
Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

Zimbabwe's telecommunications regulatory body, Potraz said cyber
security could be strengthened through development of a national
framework that involves public and private sectors.

It said lack of adequate security hindered the use of information and
communication technologies that rely on the protection and
confidentiality of sensitive data.

"Unless these security and trust issues are addressed, the benefits of
the information society to citizens, business and governments cannot
be fully realized," said Potraz.